Shohei Ohtani Quotes

The mindset behind Shohei Ohtani’s greatness.

I’m going to a place where great players from every country gather. I don’t want to lose to them.

Ambition, Challenge, Mindset
I wanted to challenge myself, but more than that, I was curious about how good I could become by taking a different development path from everyone else.

Challenge, Mindset
I get excited when I go somewhere unfamiliar. It was the same when I entered professional baseball. I remember feeling excited, thinking there must be so many players who are better than me.

Challenge, Growth, Mindset
At that time, I was already planning to come here to the U.S., so I never imagined going through the process I did.

Dream & Aspiration, Challenge
I want to show how strong Iwate Prefecture really is at Koshien.

Responsibility, Belief, Reflection
Baseball isn’t something you can win alone. Everyone is connected — getting on base, running the bases, each play involves multiple people working together. We can reach the Senbatsu together as a team, and I want to add my strength to that.

Baseball Philosophy, Responsibility
I’m happy to get attention, but based on reputation alone, I haven’t actually achieved anything yet.

Mindset, Professionalism
Even when I gave up hits, my teammates covered for me. I was given the ace number and sent to the mound because they trusted me. That’s why I wanted so badly to hold them down.

Responsibility, Failure, Reflection
I could feel myself getting better and better as a hitter. There was a version of me that was higher than I expected, and that’s when batting started to become fun.

Challenge, Growth, Joy
There are players whose scale I admire and want to reach, but I’ve never thought that I want to become exactly like someone else.

Mindset, Ambition
I realized that I was the one who needed to practice the most on the team, so I shouldn’t create a situation where the coach is forced to step in like that.

Professionalism, Responsibility
I’ve never thought that baseball practice was something I hated. I can push myself there—though even calling it ‘pushing myself’ feels strange. It feels more like I’m not pushing at all, and that’s actually when I’m strongest.

Joy, Love for Baseball